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Spurs' Rudy Gay: Agrees to one-year deal with Spurs

by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

Gay and the Spurs agreed to terms on a one-year, $10 million contract Sunday, Shams Charania of Yahoo reports.

Gay came to the Spurs on a one-year, "prove it" deal last season after he tore his Achilles in 2016-17, and he averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in a career-low 21.6 minutes per game. Gay opted out of his $8.8 million player option for 2018-19, and while that was somewhat of a risky move, he'll ultimately end up with a slight pay raise next season. Given that he'll be another year removed from the Achilles injury, Gay could see a bump in minutes next season, but it will be difficult to evaluate his fantasy value until the Spurs resolve the Kawhi Leonard situation.

Gay has declined his player option for the 2018-19 season and will become an unrestricted free agent, Chris Haynes of ESPN reports.

Gay had previously been on the fence regarding whether or not to pick up his $8.8 million option, but it appears he's elected to decline it and could be looking to latch on with another contender or find a longer-termed deal. The 31-year-old played a career-low 21.6 minutes per game in his first year with San Antonio and despite the potential for a change of scenery, it seems unlikely the veteran forward would command a much larger role if he signs on with another contender. Injury concerns will be a factor for a player who's seen action in just 87 games over the last two seasons, but Gay still demonstrated an ability to be a consistent scorer off the bench for the Spurs when healthy and should field plenty of interest elsewhere in the league.

Gay said he's unsure if he'll exercise his player option to remain with the Spurs for the 2018-19 season, HoopsHype reports.

Coming off of torn Achilles, Gay essentially signed a two-year "prove it" contract with the Spurs, who gambled that the 31-year-old would bounce back from the serious injury. While Gay was limited to 21.6 minutes per game, he appeared in 57 contests and averaged 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting better than 47 percent from the floor. Given where he's at in his career, Gay faces somewhat of a difficult decision, as he'd likely draw interest from other teams, though it's unclear if he'd be able to secure a longer-term deal. His player option is worth close to $9M, so on paper, at least, it may make the most sense to opt in, hope for another productive season, and hit free agency again in 2019.

Gay scored 14 points (7-15 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 0-1 FT) while adding seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in 37 minutes during Sunday's 103-90 win over the Warriors in Game 4.

The veteran forward has scored between 11 and 15 points in all four games this series, and Gay has also been a force on the defensive end, averaging 2.0 steals a game to go along with his 13.0 points, 6.0 boards and 2.3 assists. He's scored in double digits in nine of his last 10 games going back to the end of the regular season, so look for another productive effort from Gay in Tuesday's Game 5.

Gay accounted for 11 points (4-11 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 2-4 FT), six rebounds, two assists and one steal across 31 minutes during San Antonio's 110-97 loss to the Warriors in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Gay was solid once again in a complementary role on the starting five, generating his third straight double-digit scoring effort to open the series. The veteran did see his shooting percentage dip under 40.0 percent for the first time in the series, but his contributions elsewhere were typically solid. Heading into Sunday's Game 4 with solid averages of 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals in the first three games against Golden State, Gay will look to help the Spurs stave off elimination.